"We're doing great, thanks," Sadie said."But how about you?What's going on in your world?"She raised her eyebrows, and Savannah glanced at Dom, knowing that they must both be curious about her and Jake.
Dom gave her a friendly smile."Damon said that you might be coming to the house with Jake tomorrow afternoon.I hope you can make it."
Sadie laughed."He's much more subtle than I am.I wanted to just come out and ask how things are going for the two of you."
Savannah laughed with her."Things are going really well, thanks.Obviously, it's still kind of new, but..."She let the words trail off.She didn't even know if she should say that she was hopeful about where things were going for them.What would that even mean?She didn't know.She tried not to think about it too much herself.She'd love to think that Jake might be her future, but they were still getting to know each other.
"Well, if it helps," said Dom, "from what I've seen, Jake's crazy about you."
"Oh, I feel the same way," she said hurriedly, not wanting them to get the impression that her silence meant she wasn't into him.
Sadie reached out to touch her arm."We'll see you tomorrow anyway.We should let you get back to work."
The hostess was hovering with a couple of menus, and Savannah asked her to seat them in her section.
When her shift was over, she hurried out front, eager to see Jake again.She'd asked him to pick her up out here instead of around the back.He wanted to wait in the parking lot where Rick had accosted her, and he had a point that it was the most likely place that he might be waiting for her again.But although she loved that Jake was trying to look out for her, she hated the idea of a confrontation between the two of them.
Not that she was worried about Jake's safety.Rick was older—he was the same age as her mom.And Jake was much taller and stockier.He was in good shape.She knew he spent time in the gym.He was muscular.And there went her mind again, remembering his strong arms around her in the night and thinking about how the rest of his strong body might feel later.
She was better off thinking about that than thinking about him getting into trouble if he did get into an altercation with Rick.
All those thoughts fled her mind when she spotted him waiting for her.He waved through the windshield of his truck, then jumped out and jogged over to greet her.When she reached him, he closed his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead."Hey.How was your afternoon?"
She leaned in closer and breathed him in before saying, "It was okay, but it just got a whole lot better.How about you?"
"About the same as yours."
She looked up into his eyes."I bet you had more fun.What were you doing in the garage?"
He shrugged."Just cleaning things up, straightening my tool bench and making sure everything's tidy for Monday."
She let out a wistful sigh."You make it sound boring.I would have traded with you in a heartbeat."
He chuckled."I don't think Taryn would want me in the restaurant, but I would have loved to have you in the shop with me."
"Yeah.You're so lucky that's how you get to spend your days."
"I am," he agreed."Do you want to do anything while we're here, or do you want to head home?"
Her breath caught.For a moment, she didn't want to go home—she wanted to go back to his place with him.But when he smiled, she understood what he meant.He was calling his place home – and a part of her wanted to be able to do the same.
~ ~ ~
As they rode back around the lake, Jake loved listening to Savannah talk about her Camaro.Although his smile faded when she talked about needing to do some work on the brakes.He shot her a quick glance when she laughed and said, “Don’t look so disapproving; the brakes are fine.I just want to bleed them, I haven’t made the time to do it, and I need to.”
“Want to bring it into the shop and I’ll do it for you?”He spoke before thinking about what he was saying.“Shit.I only said I’ll do it because you said you haven’t had the time.I don’t think… I didn’t mean…”
She laughed.“It’s okay.I’m not offended.It’s sweet of you to offer.And I don’t mean any offense when I say no, thanks.I’d rather do it myself.”
“None taken.But even if you don’t want my help, you’re welcome to use the lift.”
“Ooh, now that’s an offer I won’t say no to.I haven’t had access to a lift since Art closed his doors.And you’ve probably never tried it, but it’s no fun working underneath a car when you’re lying on a flattened cardboard box in the street.”
He didn’t know what to say and reached across for her hand.When she took hold of his, he gave her a squeeze.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel sorry for me.I wasn’t giving you a poor me sob story.I was only playing.”
“No, I know.I didn’t think you were doing that.I just feel bad because you’re right.Even when I was a kid, my friend’s dad owned a garage, and we worked inside the shop there on everything from our BMX bikes upwards.And then, of course, in the Corps, I had all the equipment I needed.”
